I want to convert my ac water heater to dc.
Connecting water heater directly to solar panels mppv.
Solar pv driving heat pump water heaters seems to be cheaper than using solar thermal panels these days.
Need to check the voltage of the element and keep it under the mppt voltage of the panel.
Can i connect my 12vdc 600 water heater element to the load out on my mppt solar controller to run only when my batteries are full.
Heating water with the sun is an ancient practice but integrating it into a home water system can be daunting.
I just completed connecting solar panels directly to my water heater and the results are encouraging.
Home water heaters are typically the second largest user of energy out of all home appliances.
Using a thermostat aquastat a water pump a solenoid valve circulating pump power source for solenoid valve and pump and a length of pipe buried underground or concrete we could dump the heat into the ground or concrete.
Suppose the panel is a 12 volts design then the open voltage will be around 20 21 volts dc.
The heated water exits the storage tank and enters the water heater through a connecting pipe.
On the other hand if our two solar panels have both different wattage and different voltage then parallel connection is not possible since the panel with the lowest voltage would behave like a load and would begin to absorb current instead of producing it with the.
If we have two solar panels with the same voltage but different wattage there is no problem.
02 05 2016 09 13 pm.
2 x 375w panels connected to a victron mppt smart 150 60.
If you want to heat water with solar use solar thermal panels.
Connect a solar array directly to a hot water element making sure you match the maximum power point voltage with the rated voltage of the water heating element.
Here is my setup.
The controller enables the supply of standard dhw electric boilers from solar panels.
I am using 8 renesola 300 watt 72 cell panels in 2 strings four panels in each string.
Converting an electric water heater to solar will be good for your budget and good for the environment.
Hot water by solar electric direct via mppt.
The solar hybrid hot water controller has a cpu specially programmed for maximum power point tracking mppt and continually adjusts during the day to get the most power from the solar panels.
The solar panel operates at maximum power only at the optimal voltage.
They can be wired in parallel.
This is going into my lifepo4 bank 4 x.
Mppt is especially needed in the mornings afternoons or cloudy days to keep the most power pumping into the heating element at all times.
I got the panels very cheaply about 28 watt including shipping so my total cost is less than 800 including control circuit etc.
It continues to absorb energy from the burner or heating element until it is hot enough to use.
Heck of a lot cheaper more efficient.
